Key Terms and Concepts

Intents

Intents are actionable tasks or requests that a customer wants to perform. For example, resetting an account password or checking the balance for a savings account would be considered an intent. Intents are the customer’s reason for contacting the Virtual Assistant.

Utterances

An utterance is a question that the customer asks of the Virtual Assistant when first contacting it. Utterances are used to train the Virtual Assistant to recognize all the forms that a particular question can take and then link those utterances to a specific intent. For example, asking something like “How do I check my account balance?” or “How do I change my password?” would be considered an utterance.

Solution Article

An article that provides the customer with an answer to their question or sends them to another page that contains a relevant answer.

Questions

Questions ask the customer if they would like to perform a specific action in a multiple-choice format where the customer is presented with multiple answers. Questions can also be used to ask additional clarifying information if the Virtual Assistant is unsure of the customer’s intent.

Answers

Answers represent the various options available to the customer via a specific question.

Answers primarily serve two functions for the Virtual Assistant: leading the customer to a specific solution or sending them to a clarifying question that asks the customer for more information.

Answers can build on one another - for example, if a customer is presented with a Yes/ No clarifying question and chooses the No answer, the next question can include a more specific answer that guides the customer to a suggested solution.

Answer Branch

A path that leads to an answer that consists of other clarifying questions and their associated answers. Answer branches exist to provide multiple answers for a single question while individual answers only answer a single question at a time. Answers can be located on answer branches, but not the other way around.

Action Article

An article that performs a specific actionable task within the case base, such as escalating a customer to a chat entry point or sending a specific linked web page.

Dialog

A sequence of questions and answers that leads to a solution article. Dialog can essentially be thought of as the path that the customer takes through the case base to a solution. Control actions can also be the endpoint of a dialog.

Control Action

Control action is a specific action that transfers control from one cluster to another.

For example, if a specific dialog requires that a customer speaks with a live agent, the dialog can lead to a control action article that then transfers the customer from the process cluster to the escalation cluster, where a data access link for chat escalation sends the customer to a specified chat entry point.

Control actions are created when the Escalation cluster is dropped onto a relevant question with at least one answer attached. They can later be used as a solution when creating new questions that will be guided.

Case

Case is a collection of questions, answers, and clarifying questions that is associated with a specific intent.

For example, a case can be created with the intent of helping a customer reset a password, and the questions and answers within can be tailored for that purpose.

Confidence Level

Confidence levels represent the confidence that the Virtual Assistant has in being able to correctly determine the customer’s intent. These are used primarily by the Intent Engine.

Confidence Label

Confidence labels are used in the case base to identify a question, case, or intent according to how confident the Virtual Assistant is in recommending a particular solution for a customer. There are three different confidence labels:

High confidence: The Virtual Assistant is strongly confident that this solution works for the customer.
Medium confidence: The Virtual Assistant is somewhat confident that this solution works for the customer, but requires more information from the customer before making a final recommendation.
Low confidence: The Virtual Assistant cannot identify a satisfactory solution for the customer.

Clusters

A cluster is a collection of dialogs and cases that serve a specific function. There are three clusters contained in the case base (intent cluster, process cluster, escalation cluster) with each one performing a specific function.

The intent cluster identifies the customer’s intent or purpose for contacting the Virtual Assistant.
The process cluster further clarifies the customer’s intent by asking clarifying questions, processes their answers, and guides the customer to a solution using this information.
The escalation cluster contains action articles that transfer the customer to a chat entry point to speak with a live agent if a solution cannot be found or the customer’s original intent is to speak with a support agent.

Case Tree

The case tree serves as a visual representation of the answers, questions, and clarifying questions being used in the Virtual Assistant. Note that the case base is different from the case tree. The case tree itself is contained within the case base, and when expanded, shows all of the various items contained within the Virtual Assistant, making it easier to visualize the relationships between them.

Agent Bot

Agent bots are configured to assist agents while interacting with customers. The agent bot continuously monitors customer conversations to provide proactive guidance to agents in the Advisor Desktop. It can also check for compliance, alerting agents and supervisors when it detects a non-compliant procedure or response.

Customer Bot

Customer bots are configured to assist customers by providing solutions to their queries. When customers access the customer bot, they are presented with a startup question, that the virtual assistant uses to assess the customer's need. Based on this question, the customer is presented with a list of solutions. If the customer still feels the need to talk to an agent, then the Virtual Assistant escalates the chat to an agent.

Instant Answers

Instant Answer is a feature that aids users on portals by providing them with instant solutions based on their search queries. It matches the customer's question with a solution that has the highest confidence level.